Mother's Day Thoughts

Immigrants just arrived from Foreign Countries...
Immigrants just arrived from Foreign Countries--Immigrant Building, Ellis Island, New York Harbor. (Half of a stereo card) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have been working for the past few days on my family's genealogy.  I am amazed at how much information we can access online as well as how far back we can go with that information.  After years of trying to piece things together, I am finally filling in the blanks on who my family is.

The sad thing about all this is that I have come to realize that I have cousins I have never met, aunts and uncles that never saw me before they left this reality and grandparents whose lives are a total mystery to me.  For many and varied reasons, my family was not always the closest, especially on my Dad's side.

The wonderful thing about all this is that I have found my father's ancestors (at least I believe I have) and they go back to Baden, Germany and Ireland.  On my mother's side, my paternal grandparents are a mystery because they came from Eastern Europe during a time when recording names accurately wasn't always a high priority.  I did find my Grandpa's entry through Ellis Island when he returned to the US after visiting with his uncle in Hungry.  However, according to his birth certificate, his mother and father were born in Slovenia, which became part of Yugoslavia for some time. Whether it is the spelling of their names or the fact that so much of the records from that time were destroyed in the wars, I'm not sure, but I seem to have hit a wall with it all.

On the other hand, my maternal grandparents seem to a wee bit easier to find.  They came from Ireland and Wales.  I have been able to trace them back a couple of generations, which is amazing to me!

All of this searching made me realize how blessed we are to have our mothers.  As each new mother in my ancestry is discovered, I feel a connection that spans many generations.  I feel part of a line of women who bore children, reared them, let them go into the world, sometimes never seeing them again.  I realize that I have a strong feminine ancestry of women, who were brave enough to leave the safety of what they knew to travel half-way round the world.  I am honored to be part of this lineage.

I made a Mother's Day movie for my daughters - my way of saying thanks for all the wonderful memories they have given me through the years, along with the new memories being created with my grandbabies.

 
Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.

I wish all my friends and relatives, who are mothers the very best Mother's Day.  Remember - you are all part of a long line of women, who have worked hard, loved long and dreamed big.  Blessings to you all!

Namasté! 
Enhanced by Zemanta

Comments

Sherrey Meyer said…
Interesting read, especially when I got to the reference to Baden, Germany. My husband's dad's family came from the same area. My SIL, husband's older sister, has done extensive research but years ago. I've bookmarked this page to come back to you as you reference some tools I don't think she's used, like Ellis Island. :) Thanks for the tips, and thanks for the interesting story.

Happy Mother's Day to you too!
Rev. Linda said…
Hi, Sherrey! Glad you came to visit. Genealogy work can be most fascinating. Hope your sister-in-law finds the Ellis site helpful - although they do require you to pay for copies. This link has been very helpful, also. https://www.familysearch.org/

Blessings!

Popular posts from this blog

Hyacinths to Feed Thy Soul

Words as Balm - Words as Pain

Grandchildren Connections - Guest Post